Medicine Bag
Sustainable Civilization: From the Grass Roots Up Medicine Bag Appendix - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 As we passed the end of the 1800’s, improved nutrition and sanitation can be credited as much if not more than medical advances for the increase in the average lifespan. Yet virtually all aspects of these are dependent on cheap abundant energy and the economy it provides. Absent such, what level of modern medicine can be sustained? Disclaimer: This document is not intended to provide medical advice. It is intended to provide incentive for those contemplating, or experiencing, a “worse case” scenario, such as the collapse of the present medical establishment to actively investigate alternatives appropriate to their available technology and medical expertise. INTRODUCTION The purposes of medicine include: - Prevent infection - Treat injury - Cure disease - Manage/mitigate symptoms/suffering - Eliminate toxins - Promote health - Serenity/Inner peace Little more than one hundred years ago, for most families the garden was also the medicine chest. The medicinal benefit of plants of local plants was still common knowledge. An essential aspect of long-term sustainability is going to be renewed education in locally available cures. We may have to go back to the old days when patients got “TLC”. Natural antibiotics and antioxidants may give unvaccinated people who have been exposed to biological or chemical weapons enough time to secure professional care, or they may provide the time for their body to do it’s own curing. Despite potential stress/strain well beyond what we are accustomed to, the coming paradigm requires NOT getting run down. Do not abuse your body by late nights, drugs, drinking or eating too much of the wrong things. Prevention, and early attention to problems will be essential. Switch to broths, fresh vegetables and fruits, natural juices, etc. NOW. Keep surfaces and tools, especially in the kitchen, and your hands CLEAN. Flush and sterilize wounds IMMEDIATELY. HOT water, strong lye soap, and mild acids like vinegar will take care of most of the common "bugs' in a household. Thyme oil, oregano oil, tea tree oil and lavender oil are all strongly anti bacterial. Alcohol is a very strong disinfectant. The party is over. A cold progressing to pneumonia can be fatal. Infection from a careless would can be fatal. At the onset of illness, pour down the fluids. Keep up your nutrition (and the calories & weight DOWN). FIRST AID Many sources sell kits, or you can assemble your own from individual purchases. The Red Cross, and many locations (including some phone books) set out a basic kit. The vast majority of those "kits" though, are intended only as initial response, to minor incidents, assuming you can call "911" or go to a hospital for serious incidents. In a crash or long-term aftermath, organized emergency response and medicine may not be available. Training. Everyone takes CPR, first aid, etc. classes. Knowledge. There are many books available showing "first aid" for serious, life threatening accidents and diseases. Like the crash itself, you hope you'll never need them, but if you loved one needs surgery, and there is no one else to do it, would you prefer to let them suffer/die, or to work with a guidebook, and reasonable tools to help them? AVOID Acetaminophen - The main ingredient in a number of over the counter medications. There are reports of kidney damage, and liver destruction by using up a free radical scavenger normally found in the liver, making you more susceptible to aging and other diseases. The bad effects of acetaminophen are compounded by quite a number of other prescription and over the counter drugs. Non-Steroidal Anti-Infalmmatories - Ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac, indomethacin, nabumetone, meloxicam, all indicated to be associated with stomach ulcers and kidney failure. GENETICS Some people live longer with less illness and susceptibility to disease simply because it's natural for them. NUTRITION AND DIET Lack of a proper balance of vitamins, complimentary proteins, etc. can preclude health, regardless of other factors being optimized. Even the lack of a sufficient digestable supply of a single element can lead to problems. Aim for a diet that provides something like: A - 5000 - 10,000 iu D - 1,600 iu E - 400 - 1200 iu B C - 2000 milligram EFA - 1000 - 3000 EPA, 700 - 2000 DHA COQ10 - 30 - 100 milligram Lutein - 6 milligram I3C aka Carbinil, 300 - 400 milligram Aging studies show humans need a high nutrition, but low calorie diet. High-protein, high-fat foods provide this, and "satisfaction". Eating fat does not necessarily make you fat. Carbs tends to be high PROFIT products, so do you wonder why the USDA food pyramid has been lobbied for them to be the base? It is an approach that puts keeping people fueled and working (at least for the short term) ahead of long-term health. Dr. Douglas reports a study which showed that cyclists following a diet that included only 7 percent carbs could pedal twice as long as those on a 74 percent carb diet, and that increasing protein intake and decreasing carbohydrate intake increased energy and gave a definite nutritional and biochemical advantage to exercising rats with energy levels over three times as high. Beer. Has a wide range of amino acids, proteins, polypeptides, and minerals, including potassium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, and copper. In moderate quantities, beer can actually aid your digestive system, help your body transport water, decrease stress, and benefit your heart. There’s even new evidence that shows beer can help protect you against cancer. Beer is 93 percent water, contains no sugar or fat, and has only low levels of additives. It's the "chips" or other snacks (carbs) that pile up the fat. Carbohydrates (breads, starches, and simple sugars) easy to absorb quickly become glucose in our blood, the body then pumps in the hormone insulin to convert the glucose into fuel. The insulin also tells your to stop burning fat, to put more into storage. Cooking. Some cooking may be required to make foods safely edible (i.e. yam vines or killing disease vectors in meat), but don't be surprised, but OVER-cooking foods causes a breakdown in the molecules, effecting the nutrient value and structure. It can even turn a food into substances unrecognizable to the body, which, in turn, elicits an immune response. Peppers. Capsaicin, the main ingredient in hot peppers is an antioxidant and an anti-inflammatory. Peppers contain various vitamins, including more vitamin C than oranges. Peppers help thin the blood and lower blood pressure, and may lower the blood level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), the cause of arteriosclerosis. Salt. Is a vital mineral in your diet. It is essential for many chemical processes. Low-salt diets may actually be dangerous. One theory holds that people with high blood pressure are at greater risk for heart attacks if their kidneys produce excess levels of the enzyme renin. A low-salt diet causes renin levels to increase. Water. The most abundant molecule in our bodies. Note though, that not all water is the same. As touched on in MESS, depending on what is dissolved in it, water varies over a 14 unit scale from highly acid to highly alkaline. A general guide for human consumption might be a ph of 9.5 to 10 (more alkaline than acid). ALKALINE FRUITS Apple Apricot Avocado Banana (high glycemic) All Berries inc. - Blackberries, Raspberries*, Strawberries Cherries, sour Coconut, fresh Currants and Raisins Dates and Figs, both dried Grapes *Purple, Red Grapefruit Lemon and Lime Melon - Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Musk, Water Nectarine Orange and Tangerine Peach Pear Pineapple Umeboshi Plums Rhubarb Tomato Tropical Fruits ALKALINE PROTEIN Cottage Cheese Chicken Breast Nuts - Especially Almonds and Chestnuts Seeds - Pumpkin, Sprouted, Sunflower - Millet Tempeh (fermented) Tofu (fermented) Whey Protein Powder Yogurt, Plain ALKALINE SWEETENER Stevia ALKALINE SPICES & SEASONINGS All Herbs Cayenne* and Chili Pepper Curry - Tumeric* Cinnamon - Ginger Miso - Tamari Sea Salt ALKALINE OTHER Apple Cider Vinegar Bee Pollen Lecithin Granules Molasses, blackstrap Butter, unsalted Soured Dairy Products Probiotic Cultures Alkaline Antioxidant Water - Mineral Water Tea - Bandi, Dandelion, Essiac*, Green*, Herbal, Ginseng, Kombucha Fresh Fruit Juice - Green Juices and Wheat Grass Juice* - Veggie Juices Organic Milk (unpasteurized) ALKALINE MINERALS Cesium: pH 14 Potassium: pH 14 Sodium: pH 14 Calcium: pH 12 Magnesium: pH 9 ALKALINE VEGETABLES Alfalfa Asparagus Barley Grass Green Beans Beets* Broccoli* Brussel sprouts Cabbage Carrot* Cauliflower* Celery Chlorella Cucumber Dandelions Dulce Edible Flowers Eggplant Fermented Veggies Garlic* Greens - Beet, Chard, Collard, Mustard, Wild Kale Kohlrabi Lettuce Mushrooms Nightshade Veggies Onions Parsnips (high glycemic) Peas Peppers Potatoes Pumpkin Radishes Rutabaga Sea Veggies Spinach Spirulina Sprouts Squashes Sweet Potatoes Tomatoes Watercress ALKALINE ORIENTAL VEGETABLES daikon Radish Dandelion Root Maitake, Reishi and Shitake Mushrooms Sea Veggies - Kombu, Nori and Wakame Seaweed Umeboshi (pickled plums) ACID VEGETABLES Corn Lentils Olives Winter Squas ACID FRUITS Blueberries Canned or Glazed Fruits Cranberries Currants Plums Prune ACID GRAIN PRODUCTS Amaranth Barley Bran, wheat Bran, oat Bread Corn Cornstarch Crackers, soda Flour, white Flour, wheat Hemp Seed Flour Kamut Macaroni Noodles Oats (rolled) Oatmeal Pasta Quinoa Rice (all) Rice Cakes Rye Spaghetti Spelt Wheat Wheat Germ ACID BEANS & LEGUMES Beans - Black, Kidney, Lima, Pinto, Red, Soy, White - Lentils Almond Milk, Rice Milk, Soy Milk Peas - Chick and Green ACID DAIRY Butter, Salted Cheese - Cow, Sheep and Goat Cheese - Parmesan and Processed Ice Cream Ice Milk ACID NUTS & BUTTERS Brazil Nuts, Cashews, Peanuts, Pecans, Pistachio, Walnuts Legumes Peanut Butter Tahini ACID ANIMAL PROTEIN Beef Corned Beef Lamb and Veal Pork and Bacon Sausage Turkey Venison Rabbit Organ Meats Fish - Carp, Cod, Haddock, Pike, Salmon, Sardines, Tuna Shellfish - Clams, Lobster, Mussels, Oyster, Scallops, Shrimp Eggs - Less acidic if natural feed, no hormones, no anti-biotics. ACID FATS & OILS Oil - Avocado, Canola, corn, Flax, Hemp Seed, Olive, Safflower, Sesame, Sunflower Butter Lard ACID SWEETENERS Carob Corn Syrup Sugar ACID ALCOHOL Beer Hard Liquor Spirits Wine ACID OTHER FOODS Catsup Cocoa Coffee Mustard Pepper SoftDrinks Soy Sauce Distilled Vinegar ACID DRUGS & CHEMICALS Aspirin Chemicals Drugs - Medicinal and Psychedelic Herbicides and Pesticides Tobacc ACID JUNK FOOD Beer: pH 2.5 Coffee: pH 4 Coca-Cola: pH 2 CONDITIONING AND ACTIVITY SAFETY & ACCIDENT AVOIDANCE Do you recall seeing on soda machines the little graphic of the machine falling over on someone, warning no to shake the machine? People do stupid things, and take pointless risks. AVOID CONTAMINATION Common cold viruses such as rhinoviruses can live on hard surfaces for at least 18 hours. YOU DO NOT have to come in close contact with someone who is ill, to catch a cold or similar virus from them. Washing you hands, NOT touching surfaces you have not cleaned, etc., is one of the best protections. Remember, the Doctor's office and hospital are where the sick people gather seeking a cure (and sharing their various infections). Far from being sterile places, they may be breeding grounds for disease not found in the "real world". Do you have air-ducts in your home, or vehicle? Can you clean the inside of these? What's growing in there? Legionella pneumophila, the causative agent of often fatal Legionnaire's disease, is in its natural state a minor soil component kept in check by the micro ecosystem of healthy soil. When introduced to the inside of air conditioning ducts, it can grow to be a killer. Swift, worldwide transportation of people and goods is quite an achievement. But diseases also benefit from our transportation systems. Viruses that were once isolated in a small pocket of the world can now travel anywhere, and spread before they can be noticed. Even "new" products can harbor invisible contamination, and it may be in your best interest to view and handle new possessions with caution, and clean them before introducing them to your home. PREVENTING illness is an aspect we've come to ignore, relying on our insurance paid system to cure us after the fact. Insurance though is just a part of the larger economy, which probably will not continue to function. HEALTH INSURANCE General Motors (2006) has $64 billion in outstanding UNFUNDED healthcare obligations, which is $50 billion more than its market capitalization. Do you want to be dependent on something such as this? The Doctor / Patient relationship is not something sacred, it is a business relationship. Insurance, or the means to have others pay for your accidents or illnesses, used to be your family, friends, or perhaps a formal agreement within a private organization. In these relationships, the interactive group was empowered with significant influence upon each other in a positive feedback loop leading to a healthier, less risky lifestyle. The effectiveness of such feedback is stripped away in socialized medicine, or anonymous group coverage. If you know your smoker friend, coworker or brother will call on your to pay a share of treatment or surgery, won't you make an effort to influence the actions of this individual that are contrary to their long term health? Personal responsibility for one's health, with “promptings” by family and friends will return as a more significant aspect of health care. APPROACHES TO TREATMENT Chiropractic Osteopathy Massage/ Herbs/Drugs/Vitamins Surgery Ritual/Prayer/Faith ACCUPRESSURE/ACCUPUNCTURE Although in use in the Far East for thousands of years, the science behind these techniques is not readily available. SURGERY BIRCH TREE SUGAR - Xylitol stops the growth of Streptococus pneumoniae, the typical ear infection bacteria. An obsidian blade can be significantly sharper than is possible with a steel scalpel. Israeli research has developed a relatively simple means which uses a parabolic mirror to concentrate sunlight onto a fiber optic cable, which then leads to a light scalpel, useable as a laser scalpel. Medicine Bag Appendix - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5